Police return to scene of shootings

POLICE will return to the crime scenes of a series of shootings and bomb threats tonight in a fresh appeal for information.

A week on from three incidents in Gilmerton and the Inch, officers will make a renewed bid for witnesses to come forward.

The high-visibility police presence in The Murrays Brae, Gilmerton Dykes Drive and Walter Scott Avenue comes after four men were detained in early-morning raids yesterday.

The Organised Crime Unit has launched a major investigation into the shootings and bombs being left on doorsteps, which are also linked to a third drive-by shooting in Fernieside Avenue earlier this month.

Detectives have been working with police forces across the country on the case.

He said: “We are continuing high-visibility police patrols in the area and during the evening of Saturday we will be focusing on speaking to as many people as possible to see if they have information that can help with our inquiries.

“At each location we will be engaging with the community, and handing out flyers with details of how people can get in touch with us.

“I’d like to encourage the public to approach and speak with officers.”

In last Saturday’s incidents, a Range Rover belonging to Dionne Hendry, the wife of killer Jamie Bain, was shot at, while a homemade bomb wrapped in a Liverpool FC scarf was placed on the doorstep of the home she shares with two others in The ­Murrays Brae.

Two men were seen on a motorbike around this time, and police are keen to trace them.

Another device was put outside a house in Walter Scott Avenue, at around the same time shots were fired at a property in Gilmerton Dykes Drive.

Neither of the bombs were active, but both carried threatening messages, including the note: “Pay what you are due lad.”

They are believed to have been left by Liverpool gangsters to whom Bain – who is serving a life sentence for the murder of former boxing champ Alex McKinnon at the Marmion pub in 2006 – is said to owe money.

Officers are also investigating an additional report of ­suspicious activity outside a property in the Hyvots Bank area last Friday and are reviewing reports that several doors on the same street were ­covered with lighter fluid ­earlier this year.

Three men – aged 18, 19 and 22 – were arrested and charged following the early morning police raids yesterday. They will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, while a 52-year-old man will appear in court at a later date.

Detective Chief Inspector Kenny Gray said: “The investigation is making progress, and we have detained four people in a crackdown on organised crime. But we know that there are people out there who hold the key to identifying those responsible.”